Chapter 68: Sundown’s Golden Severance

"Double-Headed Eagle King!"

"You must have a death wish!"

Just as the Sunset Blade Master was about to reach the snowy valley, the Double-Headed Eagle King, who had been hovering in the sky at a distance, leisurely casting wind spells, suddenly swooped toward him as if provoked.

Aside from its mastery over wind, the Eagle King possessed another formidable talent: tempering its body with the power of metal. While this ability may seem unremarkable at first glance, it granted the creature extraordinary prowess in close combat. Its razor-sharp talons and beak, coupled with the defensive strength of its feathers, made the Double-Headed Eagle King a force to be reckoned with in battle.

Long-range wind assaults combined with overwhelming physical might—this fusion formed the core of the Eagle King's dominance. Only when it wielded both together could it unleash its full strength.

Thus, when the Sunset Blade Master saw the Eagle King charging directly toward him, he immediately sensed its determination. Without hesitation, he unleashed the full might of his domain, and the Sunset Blade, never once sheathed, erupted with a torrent of blade energy, cleaving toward the Eagle King:

"Molten Gold at Sunset—"

"Slash! Slash! Slash…"

In the blink of an eye, the Sunset Blade Master struck eighty-one times in succession.

Within the fiery red domain, the golden Sunset Blade in his hand seemed to form a blazing sun, its unleashed blade energy transforming into radiant beams that dyed the entire sky in hues of gold and crimson.

It was as if the evening sun were melting a swath of pure gold across the heavens.

This was the renowned technique of the Sunset Blade Master—Molten Gold at Sunset Slash.

Years ago, after the Long River Blade King shattered his opponent's Solar Hand and fought a newly ascended Lu Zhengyang, the Long River Blade Technique gave birth to the Sunset Blade Style. Their fusion became known as the Long River at Sunset.

However, since this technique was created later in the Blade King’s life, it remained obscure until the Sunset Blade Master refined and popularized it, culminating in the legendary Molten Gold at Sunset Slash. Only then did the world come to know of its power.

With this unparalleled technique, the Sunset Blade Master guarded the Blade King Pass for centuries, felling countless formidable foes.

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Meanwhile—

Within the snowy valley, shrouded in mist, Lu Sheng, who had been locked in combat with Shi Ying, finally saw his long-awaited opportunity.

When the Sunset Blade Master unleashed his domain and enveloped the entire valley, the mist overhead swiftly dispersed. The display of Molten Gold at Sunset Slash became fully visible to Lu Sheng.

Not only did he witness it with his eyes, but, just as he had experienced when Simingyue performed the Canghai Bright Moon God-Slaying Blade, Lu Sheng felt the intent behind the Molten Gold at Sunset Slash resonate within his spirit.

At dusk, a golden sun slowly descends, and its rays seem to melt the very gold of the earth...

This blade technique, born from the movements of the sun itself, seemed to embody the ultimate laws of the world. Recorded by his wish-granting artifact, Lu Sheng swiftly comprehended the blade's essence.

Inspired by this intent, Lu Sheng was struck by sudden insight. Spending a measure of his accumulated merit, he restored his body, mind, and spirit to their peak. In a flash, his long blade flickered, and in the space of a breath, he mirrored the technique—eighty-one slashes in rapid succession against Shi Ying.

Then, he halted, taking the moment to recover his exhausted strength.

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"You..."

Shi Ying, pointing at Lu Sheng with his totem staff, managed to utter a single word before his jade-like skin began to crack and shatter. He collapsed headlong to the ground.

The totem staff fell beside him with a thunderous crash.

"Molten Gold at Sunset Slash—"

"Truly worthy of a grandmaster's legacy!"

As his fierce adversary finally lay defeated, Lu Sheng felt no thrill—only a profound calm.

After channeling the blade intent and performing Molten Gold at Sunset Slash, Lu Sheng had sensed that, even though Shi Ying had employed his White Elephant Jade Transformation spell, he held absolute confidence in victory.

Within the domain of a Nascent Soul Grandmaster, guided by the master’s blade intent and harnessing even a fraction of the world’s power, such force was not something Shi Ying could withstand.

Indeed, after delivering eighty-one slashes, Lu Sheng had not completely sundered Shi Ying's body. Yet, the White Elephant Jade Transformation was broken by the elemental power Lu Sheng invoked.

In the instant Shi Ying forced out his final cry, his body collapsed from within, shattering as his spell was breached.

"Though I borrowed some outside strength, this foe is finally eliminated—"

"This battle was truly arduous!"

Despite having slain Shi Ying, Lu Sheng was forced to admit that, among all his opponents, this man’s fighting power was the greatest.

Against such an enemy, victory could not be assured by ordinary means alone.

With these thoughts, Lu Sheng glanced up at the sky:

"The domain of a grandmaster is truly invincible!"

A grandmaster stands alone against nations, not because of the ability to fade into the void or flee at will, but because, upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage, they can condense the surrounding space into their own domain.

So long as their domain remains intact, they are unrivaled within it.

Ordinary soldiers, whether singly or in legions, are nothing but varying degrees of expenditure—energy drawn from heaven and earth—against the might of a grandmaster’s domain.

For a grandmaster, attuned to the world itself and able to draw on these forces at will, such expenditure is negligible.

A grandmaster can even empower their disciples within the domain, enabling them to wield greater might by tapping into the world’s energy.

Just now, Lu Sheng had used this very trait to perform the Molten Gold at Sunset Slash, drawing upon a portion of the Sunset Blade Domain’s power.

Otherwise, slaying Shi Ying would have been far from easy.

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A piercing screech echoed overhead as eagle feathers rained from the sky.

Lu Sheng saw only a golden streak circling a lone figure, darting back and forth—the five-tiered double-headed eagle. Unwilling to confront the Sunset Blade Master directly, it relied on its speed to weave around him.

Yet, despite its evasive maneuvers, the feathers falling from the sky made it clear: within the grandmaster’s domain, the eagle king could not prevail.

A feather plummeted toward Lu Sheng, who sidestepped, hearing a crisp "shhk" as it embedded itself in an exposed rock.

He picked up the feather—fully six feet long and weighing at least a hundred pounds—and could not help but draw a sharp breath.

"If a single feather is this heavy, the monster in the sky is anything but ordinary—"

"No wonder it dares challenge a grandmaster with a condensed domain!"

He drew his blade across the feather, but not a single mark was left. Lu Sheng was now certain: the bird overhead was at least of the fifth tier.

Otherwise, his weapon, capable of channeling the world’s energy, would not have been so powerless.

Thump! Thump! Thump...

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Lu Sheng suddenly heard urgent footsteps approaching, his heart instantly alert.

"Someone’s coming!"

With the mist in the snowy valley now banished by the Sunset Blade Domain, Zhou Weiqian, Duanmu Xiong, and the others must have finally awakened.

Perhaps they too had seen the eagle feathers falling from the sky and were hoping to snatch some spoils.

Looking at Shi Ying’s corpse and the body of the White Jade Elephant, Lu Sheng thought,

"My spoils of war—"

"I can't let them fall into their hands!"

Without delay, he slipped the eagle feather into his spatial ring and quickly began searching Shi Ying’s body.

Breaking the mind-controlling parasite and absorbing it into himself, he stashed away the totem staff and continued searching for Shi Ying’s spatial treasures.

To his surprise, the newcomers showed no interest in collecting the other eagle feathers. Instead, they made straight for him.

"Those heavy footsteps—could it be Duanmu Yun?"

As he took Shi Ying’s spatial treasures and prepared to store the corpse, a figure suddenly lunged at him, accompanied by a loud cry:

"Let go of my young master!"